Saturday, August 22, 2015

Flight For Life Colorado: A Pioneer of Saving Lives in the Sky

Celebrated annually on the birthday of aviation pioneer,
Orville Wright, National Aviation Day (celebrated August 19th) recognizes the advancements of
aviation and the overall history of flight.

Fittingly,
for this National Aviation Day, I had the pleasure of sitting down with
Kathleen Mayer, program director for the very first civilian air
medical program in the U.S. - Flight For Life Colorado. Kathleen's career started as a flight nurse for Flight For Life in
1983, and although she has seen many changes in aviation and the air
medical industry over the years, her commitment to saving lives is as
strong as ever.

1) What is Flight For Life Colorado?

Flight For Life Colorado
is a non-profit critical care transport program incorporating
helicopters, airplanes and critical care ambulances to cover a nine
state area. We benefit from corporate and private donations, that
assist us with our capital equipment needs and funding for continuing
education. There is never a question of finances when helping a patient;
we will respond to anyone in need regardless of whether or not they can
pay for the care. The minute we get the emergency call requiring our
services, our pilots are out the door and headed skyward with our
medical crew to bring excellent care to the most ill or injured patients
- exactly what our training prepares us to do. Flight For Life
Colorado has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of
Medical Transport Systems since 1993.

The
best way I can describe our service is to call it a marriage of
transportation and medicine, two industries that are complicated on
their own. Our staff also has to be able to communicate with their
patients, many of whom have just experienced the most traumatic event of
their life and, often times, have a hard time speaking at all. This
added element of being a good communicator is perhaps what makes our
staff the most impressive to me. They truly care about the people they
are transporting and caring for, and they put their entire heart and
mind into the work that they do.

2) Why was Flight For Life Founded?

Flight
For Life was founded in 1972 for a number of reasons. First, men and
women returning from the Vietnam conflict experienced firsthand the
difference medical helicopters could make for a patient. That
experience set expectations for a similar civilian service in the U.S.
Second, there had been a possibility that the 1976 Winter Olympics would
be held in Colorado. Although Colorado ultimately turned down the
invitation to host the event, memories of the 1970 Wichita State plane crash, which left 31 individuals dead, showed just how necessary medical helicopters were in Colorado and the surrounding states. (A
decision was made to take the Wichita State football players on the
scenic route of the Rocky Mountains, which ultimately led to the crash
into Mount Trelease, near Silver Plume, Colorado. If Flight For Life
Colorado had been in place at the time of the crash, the medical
helicopters may have been able to save more individuals that day. All of
these events contributed to the realization that we needed an air
medical team in Colorado, one that could be ready at the drop of the hat
to save lives and transport individuals to trauma facilities across the
Rockies, the Plains and beyond.

3) Do you only help patients in Colorado?

We
help patients in several different states, with our main base being at
St. Anthony Hospital in Denver. When we first started Flight For Life,
we realized that it was not just individuals in Colorado who needed
help; our neighboring states did as well. It is not about where the
patient is located. It is about a patient needing our help and our team
being able to respond. We make one-on-one connections with the
individuals we transport because each one is a unique and important
life. We like to say that we are "the best part of your worst day." And
it is these patients that inspire us to do our job every single day to
the best of our ability.

4) What kind of accidents do you encounter?

Colorado
is known for its amazing mountain recreation, which mandates that we
are well-prepared for backcountry and mountain accidents. Many of our
most emotional and difficult transports have involved outdoor
activities. We responded to a young man from a triathlon accident who
only had about a 10 percent chance of living. If he had not been flown
to a hospital, he would not be alive today. Not only is he alive, but he
recently completed the triathlon event that was the arena for his
injury in the first place. That was absolutely amazing! It is wonderful
for us to know that patients are going to live, but even more
incredible when we hear the stories of how far they have come since
their accidents.

Five
years ago, in August 2010, we had another very traumatic incident where
a Colorado man, Craig Horlacher, had been on a fishing expedition when
he encountered a steep spot in the river and was severely injured. He
spent 5 nights and 6 days wallowing in the water, barely conscious and
battling hypothermia. When his wife became alarmed that he had not
returned home, she alerted Flight For Life Colorado and our team went to
find him. Fortunately, the flight team got there just in time. Craig,
most likely, would not have made it another day. In fact, he probably
would only have lived for a few more hours. Flight For Life Colorado
made Craig's rescue possible, and the dedicated crew and staff are the
reason he is alive today.

5) What would you like individuals to remember on this National Aviation Day?

On days like today, we most often remember those who have contributed to the field of aviation in a momentous way - Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, Anne Morrow Lindberg (wife of Charles Lindberg), Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr.
(a Tuskegee Airman). I would ask that while you remember these
individuals, please also remember the men and women who are not in the
history books - the men and women that climb aboard medical helicopters
and airplanes every day to save the lives of others. I am honored to
work with these heroes, and wish each and every flight team out there a
very Happy National Aviation Day.